...and so it begins.
It had been a whirlwind offseason. The winter meetings brought tense conversations, legal wrangling, and more than a few late-night calls. But Gertie had made it through. She was now, officially, the owner of the Madison Wolves.
And now, with spring in the air, it was time to go to work.
“This is my first spring training,” she told a gathered group of reporters, “but it won’t be my last. We’re laying bricks now. Bricks that will hold the foundation for a new era of Wolves baseball.”
Gertie had plenty to watch this spring, starting with her prized young third baseman, Curt Holter. Holter, just 22, was already showing flashes of brilliance at the plate.
“We’ve seen it — especially since he started working more in the development lab,” Gertie said. “The kid’s got bat-to-ball instincts you can’t teach. But now his plate discipline is catching up.”
Another success story out of the Wolves’ modernized player development lab was starter Jesús Gil. Long known for electric stuff but erratic command, Gil entered camp looking sharper than ever.
“He’s cutting down the walks, working smarter, and trusting his defense,” she noted. “This is the season he takes the next step.”
And those weren’t the only players on her radar.
Among the 2063 Spring Training invitees were key contributors and possible future cornerstones:
* Gary Fellers, the promising 21-year-old right fielder, fresh off a solid debut.
* Alfred Primm, a late-season call-up who slashed .278/.311/.393 in just 15 games, trying to prove he belongs.
* Gary Keller, transitioning full-time to center field, a move Gertie herself had endorsed.
* Kevin Edwards and Jaime Canales, two high-velocity relievers hoping to bolster the bullpen.
* Veteran Clint Thomas, still anchoring the closer role with confidence and command.
“We’ve got competition everywhere,” Gertie said. “We didn’t come here to hand out jobs. We came to raise the standard.”
Even the catchers’ room was crowded, with Esteban Paz, Gerardo Ruiz, and Mike Winchester all battling to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster.
And the rotation? A puzzle with pieces like Tyler Murray, Chris Stout, and Wesley Turner vying for starts behind Gil.
“There’s no faking it in the Florida sun,” Gertie quipped. “You either show up and earn your keep, or we move on. This team has to learn how to win every day.”
With the bitter memory of a 100-loss season behind them, the tone around Wolves camp had shifted. They finished 15-8 in September, 28-24 over the final two months. The seeds of hope had been planted.
Now, under the Florida sun, it was time to see what would grow.
“We’ve got work to do,” Gertie said as she leaned on her cane and watched batting practice from behind the cage. “But for the first time in a long time, we’re doing it together. No ego. No apathy. Just ballplayers and believers.”
The Gertie era had begun in earnest. The Wolves weren’t contenders — not yet. But spring has a funny way of rewriting what’s possible.
